“As leaders, we have a civic duty to elevate the next generation of women leaders by advocating for their economic empowerment and financial freedom so they can make independent decisions. We can achieve this empowerment through education, mentorship, and allyship.”

#MyThreeWords for 2023
#My3words for 2023 are elevate, innovate and sustain. Why do I select #my3words each year? In 2015, I read about Chris Brogan’s idea to choose three words in the new year to guide your choices and actions. Ever since, I’ve been picking my own three words (read my complete list below). These three words serve as guideposts for my path, helping me keep my goals and values at the forefront of everything I do. They remind me to focus on [...]
UpNext Magazine: Stewards of the Future: Modern Board Governance
I enjoyed my conversation with UpNext, CPA Ontario's digital PD magazine for their December edition. In the video interview, we discuss practical advice for elevating your board effectiveness and making your voice heard around the boardroom table. To watch the video, register for the digital issue of UpNext here: https://lnkd.in/g2mWEqqP
There Are Many Ways for CPAs to Prep for a Board Role
Recently, I had the chance to share some advice on preparing for a board role with Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA Canada). For CPAs who are looking to join a board for the first time, there's plenty that you can do to gain the skills and connections you need to find the right role. Read the article to learn more: https://lnkd.in/eEMUW5cE

Deborah, as Founder and CEO of Women Get on Board was instrumental in facilitating my board career by providing advice on criteria’s to be given an opportunity to sit on a board. Deborah has grown WGOB from a Toronto based organization to one that is national. She willingly shares her 20+ years experience of sitting on boards for the benefit of others. She is a mentor, sponsor and promoter of numerous women in their board journey. She provides thought leadership and gives back to her community with the invaluable work on CPA Canada’s advisory committees. I know that my board journey would look a lot different without the support and insight of Deborah and WGOB.”
Deborah Rosati is Canada’s Connector. She focuses her time, energy, passion, insights and wisdom towards connecting, promoting and empowering women to corporate boards. Deborah unites women and men across the country in an effort to drive diversity and women’s equality in boardrooms. Deborah founded Women Get On Board in 2015, and has since established a community of over 650 women and men who are on their board journey. Through Women Get On Board, panels discussions, podcasts and more, Deborah has elevated the bar for good governance, boardroom diversity, equity and inclusion. Furthermore, through Women Get On Board’s Mentorship program, Deborah is grooming the next generation of corporate directors. Deborah leads with passion and inspires everyone she meets with her relentless energy and commitment to helping people and companies flourish.Deborah’s authenticity and approach to relationship building is unrivaled in the realm of board diversity and corporate board building.
Deborah has a unique ability to see a need, but then to invest the effort to create a vision and an ecosystem to address the need. We came together with a shared vision of helping accelerate gender parity on corporate Boards. From that shared vision, we co-created and co-deliver the Getting Board Ready program, targeted at women looking to land their first corporate Board seat. I have had an inside view to her passion, her collaborative nature, her willingness to pay it forward, her expertise, and her acute business savvy. A well of ideas, she seems to have a sixth sense on how to brand and market, and is a force to be reckoned with.
Deborah is an outstanding change advocate and continually connects, promotes and empowers women for board service. She is an exceptional entrepreneur who is able to apply her training as a financial expert and operational knowledge of the ‘nuts and bolts’ of running a business, to educate and empower her young team. I believe unequivocally that Deborah is a deserving recipient of an RBC Canadian Entrepreneur Award and I am honoured to support her nomination.